A good buyer’s broker on your side is the best thing you can do to find the home you’re looking for and get the best deal. These agents know the market, the best neighborhoods, and what type of loan will best fit your situation. You’ll save a lot of wheel spinning if you get an agent in the beginning. The best part is that the fee is typically paid by the sellers, who are glad to pay it to get their home sold to a qualified buyer.
Max and Andrea were first-time homebuyers who had been looking for three months and were getting frustrated. Every weekend they circled ads, toured open houses, and called on for-sale signs. The bewildering array of choices only added to the confusion. Finally, one of Andrea’s coworkers suggested they talk to Carol, an agent she knew through her school’s PTA.
The first thing Carol did when she met with Max and Andrea was to ask them if they were working with a mortgage lender. When they said no, she told them that step number one in buying a home was to find out what you could afford. She then arranged for them to meet with a mortgage lender to get the process started. A couple of hours later, the lender called Carol and told her that Max and Andrea looked pretty good. There were a couple of small credit problems he had to clear up, but that shouldn’t be too difficult, and they could go up to about $150,000.
Meeting with the buyers again, Carol quickly determined what type of home, the number of bedrooms and amenities they wanted, along with areas within a reasonable commuting distance of work. The next step was entering the information into the multiple-listing database. Since this database is updated continuously, Carol limited the search to homes that had come on the market in the last two weeks. She knew that the best homes don’t last too long, so those are the ones you want to look for first. If the first list doesn’t produce a winner, the search is extended back to, say 30–60 days and so on. The longer a home has been on the market, the greater the chances are that it’s either overpriced or a dump where the buffalo roam. In the first search, Carol pulled up 14 homes that fit the buyers’ criteria, and the search was on. The first eight homes they looked at over the next two days were nice, but didn’t quite fit. On the third day of looking, however, the tenth home on the list turned out to be a winner. It was what the buyers were looking for. Max and Andrea quickly made an offer and Carol presented it to the sellers that evening. It was accepted with a closing scheduled in three weeks.
It’s true you can find a home on your own, but why spin your wheels and go through the hassle when you can have the services of a professional who will make sure you make the right moves? So, how do you find a good broker? Ask other people you know who have bought homes if they can recommend a good agent. Excellent sources are mortgage lenders and title people. They know who are bringing in the deals and how good a job they’re doing for their clients. Once you find a good realtor, it’s in your best interests to work with her on an exclusive basis. You may be asked to sign a Buyer’s Agency Agreement. If you specify that it can be canceled by either party, you’ll have a way out if you find you can’t work with that agent.
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